[Psychedelics in psychiatry: an open debate].

Abstract

The application of psychedelics in psychiatry and psychotherapy is increasingly the subject of scientific evaluation and discussion in national and international professional and general society, and, internationally, has already been partly applied in the clinical setting. The manuscript provides a basic description of the state of the art regarding evidence and clinical issues; law, ethics and economics are addressed; therapeutic qualification of potential users and a potentially clinical embedding in psychiatry are discussed, taking into consideration current challenges. Thus, the discussion will cover the circumstances under which the application of psychedelics might have a potential to broaden the spectrum of treatments in certain psychiatric conditions, particularly in the context of chronicity and treatment resistance to current methods. However, basic and critical issues have to be clarified before eventual implementation.